


Cost of Creation

by lizzzard_writes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/M, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), I make lore up and you can't stop me, I'm Bad At Summaries, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other, Please read notes, Slow Burn, Well - Freeform, gender fluid you too, if Disney can make things up then so can I, if you have a problem with that, is it a slow burn if you are supposed to live 5000 years?, so just go with that, with another shapeshifter, you are a shapeshifter who eventually gets in a relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28703712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzzard_writes/pseuds/lizzzard_writes
Summary: The Völuspá, the sacred grounds of Asgard, is the home of all the magic that not only powers but protects Asgard. This is your home, and the home to those who choose to learn seiðr or are descended from  Seiðrine, the first user of seiðr in Asgard. You are the latter, which gives you an enhancement to the magic you already know and use. You are given something wonderful, but you ignore it in favor of finding out why. This follows you and Loki since the time you are both children until post Endgame (sort of fix it fic?)* Some things that have not been posted yet may change based on the Loki series. I will decide when it's out.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue, PLEASE READ

#####  Things to know: 

In this nonsense of lore since the MCU has none, seiðr is obviously still a thing but the first person in Asgard to use it (and one of Asgard’s founders since we know nothing I can do what I want) was Seiðrine. All of her descendants are born with a connection to seiðr automatically and each receive a different gift/ enhancement.

For aging since we know nothing, I’m making them age the initial 18 years in 50 (so 50 equates to 18, 25 is 9) and then they age slow as shit. 

Völuspá is the first poem in the Poetic Edda and basically is about a völva (seeress) telling Odin about the world’s creation and end. So I used it as the name of sacred grounds of Asgard.

Additionally, I find names important and for the purpose of this story, family as well. So I will be giving your parents names, and you will be having two heterosexual parents. But don't worry about needed to be focused on them for very long. This is a story about you and Loki. Father's name is Mikkel and mother's name is Lífa.

Any other information will be provided at the beginning of each chapter.


	2. The Origin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Loki and you meet at age 17 (about human 6).  
> Keep in mind this is NOT beta read and is significantly rougher than later chapter. I'm just finally migrating my Tumblr stuff onto here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lopt means sky
> 
> Vatn means lake
> 
> Eiðr means oath
> 
> Veleda is what germanic tribes referred to as a highly respected seeress

Völuspá is the most serene place on Asgard. As soon as one foot steps within its boundaries everything seems to shift and change. It’s practically all meadow with a lone large Yggdrasil tree in the very center of the actual village, a forest to the far opposite end of where most people enter and several different gardens throughout the village. 

Loki has spent most of his life either on the palace grounds or the occasional stop somewhere else his mother took him. He’d never been this far beyond the main city before and it has him in awe. Between the complete freedom of the plants and their overgrowth to the overwhelming openness of it all, Loki has never seen someplace so small that seems so large.

Völuspá also has norms that nowhere else in Asgard has. Both men and women in pants (some of them in lengths most definitely not allowed in the palace), near everyone in ankle boots or fitted shoes instead of knee high boots, and . So Loki takes it all in, nearly tripping several times as they walk through the uneven ground. 

“So am I learning today?” Loki asks Frigga. 

Frigga looks down to her younger son. “Not today. Today we are going to find a good friend of mine who will help us.” 

He nods in response and returns to taking in the scenery. 

The pair approach an old building, one older than any other Loki has seen. It is no more than a story high, gray brick stacked carefully to create an immensely smoother exterior invaded only by the vines appearing to strangle it, various colors of alliums a bright contrast to the dark green of the vines and their leaves. Only one place is devoid of all the overgrowth: the open entrance. There the vines seem to grow into the building, following the small entranceway rather than knotting over it like what normally happens to overgrown buildings. Babbling of water can be heard bouncing around the inside and echoing its way out.

Inside is a surprise compared to the tame and broken outside. 

There is a large fountain as soon as they enter with a statue of two figures he does not recognize in the center, water trickling down every curve of it. The vines follow them inside, devoid of flowers this time but spreading out along the open roof as a natural canopy, the sunlight filtering in with specks of dust, maybe specks of plants, falling with it. Spreading out from the center room are seven different hallways, each with a marker above them in a language Loki does not recognize. 

“This is a temple so we must be respectful. Stay by the fountain, I will be right back.”

“I will.” 

Frigga walks off to the hallway on the left side, the second closest to the pair. The symbol glows green as she walks through the doorway and fades back to match the same gray tone as the rest of the building when she is far enough into the hallway. The young prince’s eyes widen in awe.  
But his attention turns back to the fountain. The same brick gray of the rest of the building but smoother than marble. He leans onto the brick edge to look at the water’s surface more closely. Besides the lotus flowers floating around the water is completely smooth like perfectly refined glass. 

The noise of people entering pulled your attention away from the book your father gave you to distract you from bothering him while he was working on something or another. So you set it down and begin to creep along the walls of the hallway, interested in who is here. Your parents have told you on an enumerable number of occasions that you were not to bother those you do not know who enter the temple. Only once did you actually follow that rule and it was because they left before you could get there. 

So you step out of the center hall into the soft light of the entrance, the sunlight filtering through the vines above. Across the fountain stands another person around your age but in clothes not worn around Völuspá. Someone visiting most likely, the perfect target for a little prank. So you lean forward in a similar fashion while he is still distracted, right pointer finger tapping the water. 

Loki’s eyes watch in awe as the water comes rippling towards him. It grows the closer it gets going from a small drop to a tiny wave as the water moves from your side to his, peaking just in front of him in a wall as a clear as glass. Loki pushes back and furrows his brow. He can’t quite figure out how the water has changed into such a solid looking shape. So his fingers touch it to see if it really has changed to glass. It’s smooth as such but still liquid. 

Then it crashes. The prince jumps back to avoid the splash. 

“I’m (y/n), what’s your name?” You ask, swirling your finger around in the water more, eyes watching the boy.

He looks up from the puddle and to you. “Loki,” he replies and begins to walk towards you, choosing to move to his right. 

You had push yourself off the ledge a bit, standing back up right. “Oh, you are one of the princes!” 

Loki stops in front of you. From this angle you can see him better, dark near black hair and eyes that match the lopt lilies in the Eiðr lake. He can see you better as well, donned in plain black pants that stop halfway down your shin, a loose black shirt and floral vested jacket that he would call a blouse if it weren’t such a stiff material, buttoned unevenly with an extra button on the lower left and an extra slot on the upper right.

“Yes, I am the younger prince.” 

“Why are you here?” You demand.

Loki tilts his head. Though he is young, people rarely spoke to him with such a tone unless it was his parents or occasionally an instructor. 

“(y/n), what did I tell you about bothering those you do not know!” Your father chastises as he walked in from the hallway you previously came down.

You spin towards him and lean back against the fountain. A grin spreads upon your face, eyes sparkling with mischief. “To not do it.”

“And what are you doing?”

Loki takes in his appearance as well. Outfit even more plain than yours but in all a deep green color. 

“Talking to someone I do know. I just introduced myself and therefore I am not bothering someone I do not know.”

Your father sighs with a smile and kneels. “Twisting words already. I fear the day your vocabulary reaches the same as your cousin’s.” His right hand cups your cheek gently, thumb tracing the skin carefully. “Alright little veleda, introduce me to your new friend.” 

“His name is -”

“Loki, I told you not to wander off,” Frigga hisses in the same tone as your father just reprimanded you in. 

He turns to face his mother as she comes from around the same side as he did. “But I didn’t. I’m still in the same room.”  
Frigga sighs in a similar as your father to your response. Both tired parents exhausted with their child’s young snark.

“Loki, this is my friend Lífa. She is going to help us start your training with seiðr.” Her eyes flit behind her son. “And I see you already met her daughter and her father.” 

Loki looks over his shoulder to you. He watches as your grin only gets wider. It seems the two of you are going to be seeing each other often.


	3. Noble versus Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Loki approach 19; you venture outside the Völuspá for the first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These few chapters are rough, so thank you to everyone who gets through them. I promise it is worth it. And when I mean rough, I mean rough. But later on is good. I swear to god. Gods. Loki?  
> Some words to know:  
> Fjalltindr - adj for mountains/hill  
> vætter - creature/supernatural creature

Every Saturday and Sunday Loki came down with Frigga to the Völuspá. And every Saturday and Sunday the two of you learned and practiced together. Everyone else in the Völupsá is older than both of you, so your training is always quiet, nice, and filled with a little too much trouble. 

The first weekend the two of you trained together was… odd. You could already do so much and Loki had no clue what he even was supposed to possibly do - he had only seen the small tricks of his mother’s to distract he and his brother on occasion. 

The two of you were left alone under the shade of the ancient Yggdrasil tree while your parents and Frigga were off to do something one day. Since the tree is the center of the Völupsá, it is the center of all the magic in Asgard and is where every connection to seiðr begins. Its roots lead down to Mimir’s Well, a small staircase carved beside the roots with a door near the base of the tree. 

You were sitting against said door, fingers tracing the old carvings in the roots that have worn into unreadable runes over the years. After only a few minutes you had begun to grow bored, eyes rolling at Loki’s little balled fist as he angrily repeats the spell on the page before him. So you began to shift the leaves on the ground to butterflies, different shades of blue and green and ensuring they flew to his hair and stuck in his black locks.  
“How are you already so good?” Loki demanded to know as he gave up in anger, swatting the butterflies away. 

You tilt your head. “What do you mean how am I already so good?”

“Well I mean you are already making butterflies out of leaves and I can’t even turn a page!”

“I was born here, I was born down in the Well, and I’m a descendant Seiðrine. I’ve been doing magic since I was born, I have nearly 16 years on you.” 

Loki huffed. “Well I’m going to be as good as you one day.”

“I hope so, otherwise I’ll be quite alone here.”

And after that woeful first day when it took far too long for him to even begin, most of your lessons were more equal.While most things you both are learning for the first time or things Loki studied more during the days in which he was supposed to be doing his normal schooling, there is one thing you have already masted well beyond your age: telekinesis. This always causes problems whenever you two are by any sort of water since your favorite thing to control is water; freezing splashes and drops in midair. It’s a struggle to explain why this is general telekinesis and not a specific type of kinesis to Loki who is just now learning magic at all. It does, however, give your father an idea of what the gift you will be receiving during your 50th birthday ceremony will most likely be. 

He was always immensely proficient at shapeshifting, so he got the ability to shift to be invisible. Heimdall excelled at aura reading and healing, so he got the ability to see all souls. Lorelei excelled at empathic spells, so she got enhanced persuasion through her voice.

And in 30 years, at this point, everyone around you will know for sure. But all signs thus far are pointing towards enhanced telekinesis. 

As tradition follows, when the lessons for the day are finished, all four of you walk back towards the entrance of the Völupsá so you and your mother can see Loki and Frigga off. 

“Hey, are you both coming to Sif’s birthday on Wednesay?” Frigga asks before she and the youngest prince leaves. 

“I don’t see why not?” Your mother’s hands rest gently onto your shoulders. “It will be (y/n)’s first trip to the capital. First trip anywhere but the Völupsá, to be honest."

“Then you guys should most definitely come down. It will be nice for her to finally meet the rest of the children.” 

—  
So on Wednesday you and your mother walked hand in hand down to the Capital. Your mother made sure the pair of you left earlier so if your mind wandered and you tugged too hard to force her to go on an entirely different path, you still made it in time.

Surprisingly, you were mostly undistracted by the crowds of the Capital and all the fanfare that went with it. So guiding you from the outskirts where there weren’t many people to the overflowing markets to the more secluded fields where many noble families were gathered for little Lady Sif’s 22nd birthday was significantly easier than she had planned. 

“So this is your daughter, Lady Lífa,” a woman with long auburn hair twisted upon her head practically squeals, leaning down to look at you. 

As she draws closer her tawny freckled skin becomes far too detailed, dark blue eyes uncomfortably excited. You tilt back from her face as she grew close; the woman continued to interfere with your personal space as you tried to pull back, still gripping to your mother’s hand. 

“Sorry about that, Ásví. She’s not used to people getting so close to her,” your mother apologizes and gently presses her hand against her friend’s shoulder. 

“It’s alright, she is cute. A gorgeous little girl. Though her outfit is… curious.” Ásví stands back up, trying to hold back her grimace as she looks at your mother. 

Your brows furrow as you look down to your outfit. It’s a nicer outfit than normal: dark green leather pants with a white tunic that goes well past your knees, slits beginning just above your hips and the tiniest detailing of a Yggdrasil where a keyhole neck cut out would normally go, but your parents insist you don’t wear yet.

“What’s wrong with my outfit?” You question angrily before your mother can speak. 

“Well,” Ásví begins condescendingly, “it is common for women of all kind, but especially those of noble descent, to wear dresses, see?” She gestures towards the group of people behind her, her own robin blue dress swaying with her movements. 

“But I’m not just noble, I’m a descendant. I’m wearing clothes typical of the Völupsá, especially a descendant.” You stomp your foot as you finish. 

“But you are at a noble gathering, sweetie.”

“I’m not just a noble, though. It—”

“I’m sorry, Ásví," your mother rushes out. "Maybe next time, we’ll find her a dress. I’m going to introduce her to the other children, alright?”

Ásví turns her scowling face away from you and switches to a pleasant smile as she looks back to your mother. 

“Of course. My little Sif is with all the others.”

With quick steps your mother ushers you both away. 

“Mom?” You ask as you pass Ásví and begin towards everyone else.

“Yes my little veleda?”

You look up to her. “You won’t make me wear a dress next time, will you?”

“Of course not, little veleda. You can choose, you always have the freedom to choose.” She smiles down at you, her matching eyes looking at you directly to assure you of what she has said. “Come on, you have more than just Loki to know. Outside of the Völupsá there are tons of people. Friends especially.”

Both you and your mother look back towards everyone else. 

“You made it!” Loki yells as he dashes away form the group he is in the near middle of, tripping on his own feet to get to you.

Your right hand releases from your mother’s left and you dash towards Loki as well. Somewhere in the middle of your starting points, you two nearly collide. You stop just before it can happen and let him finish running the last few inches to you, however, and allow him to throw his arms around you. You reciprocate, for a brief moment. 

Then Loki pulls away, suddenly aware of just how many other kids there are who could mercilessly tease him the second you leave. 

“Let me introduce you to everyone,” he offers, extending his right hand.

You nod and take his outstretched hand. “Alright.”

“So this is Sif, whose birthday it is,” Loki begins, gesturing towards a girl a little bit taller than you. 

She’s also got tan pants beneath her green dress, just barely visible and it’s clear her mother was not the one who approved her outfit. But her birthday, her rules, right? Her hair is braided back tightly to clearly reveal her stony-green eyes. 

“Hi Sif, I’m (y/n),” you reply and extend your hand.

Sif grins after eyeing your outfit, easily shaking your hand. “I like your outfit, (y/n).”

“I like your pants, Sif. Happy birthday.”

Sif rolls her shoulders back to stand higher with her eyes sparkling as soon as the words pass your lips. It’s clear she has not received many, if not any, compliments on her choice of clothing. 

“Thank you.”

“Now, there are more we need to meet, come on!” Loki insists, pulling you away from Sif’s tight grip. 

“I’ll see you later!” You shout behind you as Loki ushers you away towards everyone else. 

He stops you in front of group of similarly aged children as they all tumble into a pile of wrestling and wildness. His hands stay rested on your shoulders in almost possession combined with nervousness. Loki is radiated anxiety as if everyone is going to suddenly reject you, yet he is also terrified to share the one friend he never thought he had to share.

“So, now, this is Fandral,” Loki points to a blond, “and Volstagg,” ginger, “and Bjǫrn,” auburn hair, and…” but the boys are all scattered now, running in different direction. 

A different blond jumps in front of the pair of you and you stumble backwards, the intrusion on your space so quickly startling you. Loki moves his grip to your shoulder to steady you.

“I’m Prince Thor!” He practically yells in your face. 

Your brows furrow at his loudness and suddenness. Though you have not been to the palace, you have read many books of the previous Allfathers and Allmothers and you know that is no way for a prince to introduce himself. 

“I’m (y/n),” you slowly say. 

“I know. Loki has told me so much about you and your lessons.”

“Thor!” Loki whines from your left.

“It’s unfortunate you haven’t been here before. Four years since you’ve met and you’ve been hiding past all those mountains.”

You shake your head, trying to keep a smile on. “I’ve never left and I’m nineteen, nearly twenty.”

“Still.”

An involuntary grimace appears on your face as Thor lacks to explanation. 

“I’m just going to sit, I think,” you mutter, utterly confused how Loki and Thor could possibly be siblings. 

You wander away from the brothers, feeling the aura between them change slightly suddenly at your words. A good twenty feet away you simply plop down on the grass unlady-like (not that anyone has taught you thus far how to perform like a lady) and begin plucking on the grass beneath you.

After a few minutes one of the kids Loki pointed out, Fandral you believe, comes to sit you beside you. At first he says nothing. You are content with nothing as you watch the squealing and yelling and chasing of all the other children. It’s not that you don’t want to play, but it’s already overwhelming to see all the people and families walking about. There are more people in this gathering than you have seen in your entire life. 

“So, I haven’t seen you before. What house are you from? Or are you not noble?”

“Oh, um, my mother is of the house of…” you pause to think back to what your mother told you, only days ago. Each noble house had a name based on what land they controlled when Asgard was first built… “Fjalltindr.”

“Oh, okay.”

It’s another good two or so minutes in silence before Fandral speaks again.

“If your mother is from a noble family, why are you never at any of these gatherings?” Fandral wonders.

You shrug, tugging on the grass beside you. “I don’t know.”

“Well what village are you from?” He pushes.

“I’m from the Völuspá.” 

Fandral’s eyes go wide in surprise. “So you’re one of those vættr?”

“Vættr?” You look to him, brows furrowed. “I’m not a vættr. I’m a practitioner of magic. And vætter aren’t bad either, they are just creatures of the supernatural. Like the great wolves, the serpents that once were. They aren’t bad, just… are.”

Fandral furiously shakes his head. “You’re one of those freaks, those unnaturals.” 

“No I’m not. Magic is what runs and protects Asgard.”

“Maybe, but everyone from the Völuspá is a freak!”

“That doesn’t even make sense!”

The next tuft of grass you tug goes flying into the air, turning into a flock of yellow, wasp-like dragonflies, all turning directly towards Fandral. They dive-bomb into his hair and bury deep into the locks, the black bodies easily lost amongst the blond. 

He screeches like a newborn as he stands, shaking his head back and forth to rid of the dragonflies. 

Your mother (along with every other adult) turns towards the screaming. In order to stop you from causing more chaos, your mother dashes towards you.  
“What did I tell you?” 

You kick the dirt beneath you and avert your eyes from your mother. “Not to perform magic during this gathering.”

“Little veleda, it is not a punishment.” Your mother leans down to try and look at you. Her right hand lands onto your shoulder softly as a gentle assurance. “Most of the magic people here know of is only the enchantment of the bifrost and the basic protections, everything else they don’t understand. So not here, not now.” 

“Why are we even here? It’s boring.” You look back up to her to beg her, eyes widening in an attempt to convince her to take you home. “Why can’t I be at home with father?” 

“Only a couple more hours. And you would have to come with me at some point, figured this would be a better time than an actual formal event.” She drops her hand from your shoulder. “Go.”  
Frigga walks up behind your mother as you run off towards the rest of the children. 

“It’s hard enough to raise a kid. Try raising one who already has such an insane grasp on her connection,” your mother sighs as she stands. 

“Loki’s already getting strong. At least you don’t have two boys, one who wants to fight his way through everything and the other wants to trick his way through everything.” 

With your mother and Frigga distracted and a majority of the other people not paying any mind to you an opportunity arises. The forest is close enough for you to sneak off to it. And nothing was said about magic not at the gathering. So you slip into the trees quietly, careful to avoid eyes of watchful adults. 

A little bit in, there is a river, more like a brook, surrounded by gray boulders. Your hands touch one of the smaller ones, looking up to assess just how large it is. From the friction against your hands you know even if it were taller it would still be climbable. With a small jump, your hand reaches the first crevice where you can actually grip, followed with your left hand feeling for another as your feet press into it. In all honesty, it isn’t the best rock to scale but it’s better than just sitting along the bank. Thankfully it only takes a few minutes to climb it. 

Once up on top, you swing your legs to dangle off the other side. In this moment you would hate to wear a dress and glad your mother let you wear pants instead. 

A few snaps in the woods alerts you to someone. It’s likely they followed you from the party. You know it isn’t any of the adults, they were not watching. So, another kid. Yet none of them would hold enough interest to follow you except your only friend, Loki, so you know it must be him trying to creep up behind you. 

“All these things are so boring, Loki. It sucks,” you announce.

The steps pause. 

“It’s alright, you know? You can come sit up here.” 

The sounds of him clamoring up the rock are quiet compared to the rush of the river in front of you. But you listen still. Each scrape, each small grunt of his another noise for you to focus on as you wait patiently for him to join you. 

Loki swings his legs around and sits beside you on the rock. 

“Well I’m going to be king one day so I am proud to sit through these boring parties,” Loki announces, tilting his head up.

“No you’re not.” 

Loki turns to you. “Pardon me?” 

“I said no you’re not.” Your fingers grab a pebble from the boulder and begin swirling it between your hands. “Unless your entire family dies, the crown will never go to you unless explicitly passed on. Your father dies before Thor comes of age, your mother rules as Queen Regent. Thor dies after the crown has been passed to him but your father is alive? Crown goes back to him. I could keep going on. You will never be a king so why bother sitting through all this stupid stuff.” 

You throw the rock into the river. 

The following splash freezes midair as you stare at it. It’s small; the pebble barely disrupted the rush much at all. Still the droplets remain as the rest of the water pushes on as though nothing has happened. Loki still isn’t sure how you do it. 

“Let’s suffer together then,” Loki proposes, turning back to you from the river. “You don’t want to be here and neither do I, let’s at least make it more bearable together.” 

All you reply with is a hum. It’s not a horrible offer, to be honest. _Together._

Your eyes glance over to him. “Are you coming tomorrow down to Völuspá?” 

“I should be. Mother told me are working on shape shifting.” 

You sigh. “I don’t know what we will be doing.” 

But anything would be better than this dreadful gathering.

So your fingers move to grab another pebble to toss, this one larger, and once again stop the splash. Loki’s eyes follow yours back to the water to see your little trick.

“How do you do that?” Loki asks innocently. 

“It’s just telekinesis,” you mumble, releasing the splash. 

“But ho—”

“We’ve been looking all over for you two!” Lífa yells. Both of you turn over your shoulder, looking in towards “Why are you down by the river?” 

“You said no magic at the gathering but nothing about the river.” 

“Then what are you doing here Loki?” Frigga demands. 

Loki shrugs and looks back to you. “I saw her leave and I thought I should follow. You told me to never go into the forest alone so why should she?” 

The friends share look to each other, both with their own unique twist of concern. The two of you are only going to become more and more of a handful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally NOT setting up Odin to be a much bigger liar who thought it was cool to do much worse things haha no didn't Thor say magic and science are one in the same? so why does everyone hate it? hmmmm


End file.
